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KFBK and Fox News Radio

K

kinetic

The Sac Bee did a feature on KFBK's switch from ABC to Fox radio news.

http://www.sacticket.com/tv_radio/story/13458390p-14299448c.html

The major points in the article:
    --Ken Kohl (who runs the shop) calling it a way for the station to "tap into Fox's robust national content," and to serve an audience. Kohl says their research found the KFBK audience preferring Fox News. He said, "We feel lucky to have [them]."
    --The article mentions that instead of running the Fox top of the hour newscast, KFBK news anchors are anchoring TOH newscasts while using Fox audio. Something else the article noted was the far fewer talkbacks between national correspondents and local anchors.

There's a reason for both:
    --Insiders will tell you that KK dumped the top of the hour feeds because Fox's fledgling radio product is so bad, so raw, that it's not ready for prime time. Pretty funny for someone quoted in the article as saying ABC "wasn't adding to the overall impact of the station."
    --Further, networks like ABC and CBS have a large pool of polished correspondents to tap into, many of whom have been writing for radio for years, and many others who also double on TV. Fox News on TV? A lot of pretty anchors and crisp suits but no nationally recognized news anchors or reporters outside of Brit Hume.

So why the switch? Forget research, forget liberal media arguments, or any effort to attract listeners with the kind of cosmetic bells and whistles that are part of the Fox News product. The reason was money. Running ABC News is a barter deal and it's no secret that managers hate giving up inventory. With Clear Channel's "less is more" policy a questionable venture at best (at least for now), dumping barter was an attractive option for Clear Channel.

Whether that's good or bad... well, you can decide for yourself. Will Fox radio news get better? Probably. Will it help KFBK? If ABC radio news wasn't adding to the overall impact of the station (as KK said in the article), why would any other product?


Thoughts, anyone?
 
> Whether that's good or bad... well, you can decide for
> yourself. Will Fox radio news get better? Probably. Will
> it help KFBK? If ABC radio news wasn't adding to the
> overall impact of the station (as KK said in the article),
> why would any other product?

A note: KFBK had been considering locally-based TOH anchoring for years, long before Fox News decided to go into radio. Many other major market CC news/talkers do the same.

Now, it may have been the uneven state of the current FNR product that prompted them to finally take that plunge, but we're talking about something that was considered over 5-plus years ago.

-OA<P ID="signature">______________
Ohio Media Watch - <a target="_blank" href=http://ohiomedia.blogspot.com>http://ohiomedia.blogspot.com</a></P>
 
> > Whether that's good or bad... well, you can decide for
> > yourself. Will Fox radio news get better? Probably.
> Will
> > it help KFBK? If ABC radio news wasn't adding to the
> > overall impact of the station (as KK said in the article),
>
> > why would any other product?
>
> A note: KFBK had been considering locally-based TOH
> anchoring for years, long before Fox News decided to go into
> radio. Many other major market CC news/talkers do the same.
>
>
> Now, it may have been the uneven state of the current FNR
> product that prompted them to finally take that plunge, but
> we're talking about something that was considered over
> 5-plus years ago.
>
> -OA
>
The article claimed there wasn't any bias at KFBK. What about at the Bee? Where was the mention that FNR is already on the air in Sacramento on 1380? When has the Bee reported on any other station except CC or top rated stations? Hopefully that can/will change. I'd like to read more about radio and ALL stations not just corporate CC stations.
I liked that they got the call letters wrong in the big bold typeface.
 
> The article claimed there wasn't any bias at KFBK. What
> about at the Bee? Where was the mention that FNR is already
> on the air in Sacramento on 1380? When has the Bee reported
> on any other station except CC or top rated stations?
> Hopefully that can/will change. I'd like to read more about
> radio and ALL stations not just corporate CC stations.
> I liked that they got the call letters wrong in the big bold
> typeface.
>

Thanks for pointing that out. KTKZ has been a FOX News affiliate for two and a half years. The bee seems to forget that.
 
Judging by the Ratings, everyone else forgot that, too...
Let's get some ratings before bashing a newspaper for not
knowing anything about the station...


> > The article claimed there wasn't any bias at KFBK. What
> > >
>
> Thanks for pointing that out. KTKZ has been a FOX News
> affiliate for two and a half years. The bee seems to forget
> that.
>
 
> Judging by the Ratings, everyone else forgot that, too...
> Let's get some ratings before bashing a newspaper for not
> knowing anything about the station...

Why didn't they forget about Air America? They haven't exactly been the top station, either.

The Bee has ran like 4 puff pieces on them.
 
The Sac Bee -- poor radio coverage or not?

> > Judging by the Ratings, everyone else forgot that, too...
> > Let's get some ratings before bashing a newspaper for not
>
> > knowing anything about the station...
>
> Why didn't they forget about Air America? They haven't
> exactly been the top station, either.
>
> The Bee has ran like 4 puff pieces on them.
>

Maybe there's politics involved, maybe not. Maybe one's perception of whether politics is involved is based on one's own politics.
    I haven't listened to Air America for a while, but last time I did, it still sounded like a poorly-produced college radio station. Still, its arrival was something of a news event, perhaps in part because the talk radio landscape was dominated by hard right apologists like Hannity and Limbaugh. That it would arrive in Sacramento, a conservative town, might make it more of a news event. Whether that justifies more than one or two stories is a debate up for grabs.
    If I remember correctly, the Bee did do a story about Al Franken's visit to the area to talk about whatever it was he was going to talk about. Sean Hannity will be here in October, I believe, for a similar partisan event/station co-promote. Let's see if the Bee covers it.
    On the other side of the coin, the general rule among newspapers is that stations getting the most coverage are either news-talkers, top-rated, business related, or involved in controversy. Hence, in the Bay Area, Wild earlier this summer, and KNBR more recently. Or KFBK dumping traffic, or picking up the 49ers, or KHTK renewing with the Kings.
    The fact is, radio stations just don't merit a lot of news coverage. What's to write about other than puff pieces? I imagine it's a struggle for a newspaper in market this size to find a reporter who can do the job well because he really knows the industry from the inside out --perhaps was in it. That's not a knock on du Lac before or the guy who's doing it now, it's just a reality. Or am I wrong (which is entirely possible).
    What would constitute interesting radio reporting? Forget "playing program director," a trite thread often posted in various cities on this site and elsehwere. If you were the Scene editor at the Bee, or the reporter himself, what would be worth writing about, or whom? Maybe they don't have a lot of story ideas. What is the Bee missing? Any suggestions?
 
> Let's get some ratings before bashing a newspaper for not
> knowing anything about the station...
>
Yeah, that's fair and balanced!

>
 
Re: The Sac Bee -- poor radio coverage or not?

What would constitute interesting radio reporting?
> Forget "playing program director," a trite thread often
> posted in various cities on this site and elsehwere. If you
> were the Scene editor at the Bee, or the reporter himself,
> what would be worth writing about, or whom? Maybe they
> don't have a lot of story ideas. What is the Bee missing?
> Any suggestions?
>
Oh boy, where do I start? It's a loaded question that makes me feel like a kid in a candy store!
1. Stories on ALL local personalities.
varied from week to week, different station each week, so it doesn't look like someone's playing favorites
2. Stories on the different formats.
Sac is full of diverse listening and if people want to hear different formats they'd learn about them from the article rather than a one or two word description on Sundays
3. Stories on what makes the stations sound good. (This might be a stretch)
Engineering, Production, even commercials (did I type that)
4. Stories on Management
Even though it may seem to some that the listener is last, let's learn about how these people think and why some are puppets and how others aren't afraid of corporates.
5. Stories on Promotions
Where are the stations this weekend? What local supermarket is whoring themselves on the air for people to get paid 10 an hour to sit and sweat? What community event is tying in with a station? As a reader I could pick and choose which event I'd want to attend.

Ok, pick those apart for now and thank you for allowing my two cents.
 
> Why didn't they forget about Air America? They haven't
> exactly been the top station, either.
>
> The Bee has ran like 4 puff pieces on them.

In their first full book, KSAC/1240 beat KTKZ/1380.

It's not that liberal talk is a juggernaut...it's just that KTKZ has tried just about everything, and can't carve out more than a meager share of the Sacramento radio audience, and that's with a live and local morning drive show. The numbers have settled down for 1240 since then, but they're still above KTKZ.

The conservative talk audience in Sacramento apparently doesn't see a need for a third such station, and is apparently well served by KFBK and KSTE...or for that matter, the Bay Area's KSFO, which is nipping on KTKZ's heels in the Sacramento ratings.

-OA<P ID="signature">______________
Ohio Media Watch - <a target="_blank" href=http://ohiomedia.blogspot.com>http://ohiomedia.blogspot.com</a></P>
 
> It's not that liberal talk is a juggernaut...it's just that
> KTKZ has tried just about everything, and can't carve out
> more than a meager share of the Sacramento radio audience,
> and that's with a live and local morning drive show. The
> numbers have settled down for 1240 since then, but they're
> still above KTKZ.
>
> The conservative talk audience in Sacramento apparently
> doesn't see a need for a third such station, and is
> apparently well served by KFBK and KSTE...or for that
> matter, the Bay Area's KSFO, which is nipping on KTKZ's
> heels in the Sacramento ratings.
>
> -OA
>

As someone who works closely with KTKZ, I can tell you that ratings is not the focus. KTKZ could really care less. In fact, they do not even subscribe to the arbitron ratings.

KTKZ tries to make a difference. Remember, the Gray Davis recall was born there.

God forbid if it should ever go away. Then Clear Channel would have a monopoly on local talk. Not good.
 
> As someone who works closely with KTKZ, I can tell you that
> ratings is not the focus. KTKZ could really care less. In
> fact, they do not even subscribe to the arbitron ratings.

Whether they subscribe or not, basically, no one's listening. (Haven't you and I been through this before on this board?)

Bless his heart and all...Eric really tries. He's got a diehard, small, core group of listeners. But that group is pretty much small enough to fit in the KTKZ studios. OK, maybe in one of the buildings at Cal Expo...

It's not a good sign for a radio station when a new liberal talker comes on and laps it in ratings book #1, on a signal with a fifth of the power, with no promotion.

> KTKZ tries to make a difference. Remember, the Gray Davis
> recall was born there.

Here we go again!

Just because the guy who started the thing happened to hatch the idea while guesting on Eric's show... it means nothing. He could have hatched the idea while in the restroom, and that wouldn't have been the "birthplace" of the recall. KTKZ basically acts as an in-house organizing tool for a core group of conservative activists. It's like a Yahoo Group with a transmitter.

> God forbid if it should ever go away. Then Clear Channel
> would have a monopoly on local talk. Not good.

Without drawing Mark Williams into this...who's frankly not my style...I'd rather listen to Tom Sullivan than Eric Hogue.

-OA<P ID="signature">______________
Ohio Media Watch - <a target="_blank" href=http://ohiomedia.blogspot.com>http://ohiomedia.blogspot.com</a></P>
 
Not your style, eh? Well, I think he's just awful. Not because he's conservative...I have my faves among them...Jeff Katz being one and Joe Getty being another.

It's amazing the stuff Williams gets away with, wishing notable government officials death...He just fires away...Which would be one thing if he actually
had Michael Savage's talent....But, he sounds ameteurish at best....

Just my opinion....


> > Group with a transmitter.
>
> > God forbid if it should ever go away. Then Clear Channel
> > would have a monopoly on local talk. Not good.
>
> Without drawing Mark Williams into this...who's frankly not
> my style...I'd rather listen to Tom Sullivan than Eric
> Hogue.
>
> -OA
>
 
You know, I absolutely agree with both of you about Mark Williams.

I can't stand him. Back during the Newsweek Koran in Toilet scandel, he compared my blog to Newsweek. He accused me of being a slanderer and working for Hogue because I dared link to Eric's blog.

He's just not a nice guy.

> Not your style, eh? Well, I think he's just awful. Not
> because he's conservative...I have my faves among
> them...Jeff Katz being one and Joe Getty being another.
>
> It's amazing the stuff Williams gets away with, wishing
> notable government officials death...He just fires
> away...Which would be one thing if he actually
> had Michael Savage's talent....But, he sounds ameteurish at
> best....
>
> Just my opinion....
>
>
> > > Group with a transmitter.
> >
> > > God forbid if it should ever go away. Then Clear
> Channel
> > > would have a monopoly on local talk. Not good.
> >
> > Without drawing Mark Williams into this...who's frankly
> not
> > my style...I'd rather listen to Tom Sullivan than Eric
> > Hogue.
> >
> > -OA
> >
>
 
> You know, I absolutely agree with both of you about Mark
> Williams.

Just as a note...I only said Mark's show "wasn't my style". I have odd tastes when it comes to talk radio. I also didn't really ever manage to listen to Eric Hogue when I was in town.

-OA<P ID="signature">______________
Ohio Media Watch - <a target="_blank" href=http://ohiomedia.blogspot.com>http://ohiomedia.blogspot.com</a></P>
 
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